Red means love
by ab89us
Summary: Peter and Olivia spend Valentine's Day together. Response to the challenge issued by Wjobsessed.


Okay so this challenge was created by the wonderful Wjobsessed. She suggested it and Oranfly and I jumped in feet first. It would be great to see other's do this challenge as well. Each of the 9 qoutes that we choose are highlighted in **bold.**

* * *

Olivia got out of her car and walked into the Kresge building heading down to the basement to Walter's lab. She had called earlier that day and Peter had told her that Walter had been decorating the lab, it took Olivia a few minutes to realize why the older man would be decorating it was Valentine's Day. A day that made all of the loved people feel even more loved for a night while the ones that had no one would sit at home wishing that the following year would be different and that someone would find interest in them. Olivia had spent many years on her own just working on cases or spending time with her sister if she hadn't gone off on a date with some nameless man that she knew her sister would more than likely never see again. He would serve his purpose to her and then be discarded as if he didn't matter. Olivia hated that about her sister but pushed the thought out of her head when she opened the heavy door leading to the lab and stopped short. It was as if she had walked into a Pepto-Bismol bottle.

Everything was either pink or red with paper hearts and streamers hanging off of everything that they possibly could. Numerous different types of candy filled large glass bowls that were put out all over the lab. Upon looking around, Olivia noticed that Walter had dyed Gene's hide red and pink, a heart covered bonnet sitting on her head. Looking up she saw that there were what must have been hundreds of helium balloons hanging around on the ceiling. She didn't even want to know how long it had taken the mad scientist to pull this off, judging by the fact that Peter appeared to be sleeping against a table, it had taken a long time. Olivia walked over to Peter, watching the steady rise and fall of his back letting her know that he was indeed sleeping. She loved watching him sleep. It was possibly the only time that he was fully at peace. She had watched over the past few months as the pain of what the other Olivia had done to him faded and was replaced by the time that he spent with her. They had started off slow and unsure of the other but had quickly fallen back into place where they had left off in the other universe. Though they were not actually dating, they had spent large amounts of time just the two of them whether it was going out to a bar or just spending time at the lab talking. She loved him that hadn't changed, and she could see her feelings for him reciprocated in his eyes though neither actually spoke the words that lay heavy on their tongues. As she watched him sleep she could hear the soft sounds of "hovercraft mother" by **violet sedan chair **coming from somewhere deep in the lab letting her know where she could find Walter and Astrid if she wanted to. Reaching out she pushed a bit of hair behind Peter's ear jolting him awake and making her take a startled step back.

"I'm awake." Peter slurred rubbing his sleep filled eyes and tried to focus.

"Sorry I didn't mean to wake you." Olivia said softly and saw him smile at her.

"That's okay." He said and stretched giving her a nice view of his flexing muscles under his tight shirt. "What are you doing here so early?"

"Early, Peter it's past ten in the morning." Olivia pointed out and saw his eyes snap up to the clock, a groan escaping him.

"Walter's had Astrid and me here since three this morning. He insisted on having the place fully decorated before you got here. He wanted to surprise you." Peter explained.

"Oh well he succeeded." Olivia chuckled.

"Yeah it looks like someone blew up a cotton candy factory or something in here." Peter said and stood up.

"I was thinking Pepto-Bismol." Olivia admitted and saw him nod.

"Yeah that works." Peter smiled at her. "Hey ah, **if Walter asks you to smell something…Run."**

"What?" Olivia chuckled slightly nervously. Knowing Walter he was walking around having people smell something that would knock them out so that he could run tests on them.

"Just trust me on this one alright?" Peter asked giving her a pleading look.

"Okay." Olivia agreed. "Is he here?"

"Oh yeah." Peter rolled his eyes. "Just follow the trail of pink confetti and you're bound to find him."

"Thank you." Olivia said squeezing his hand gently and going in search of Walter. It didn't take too long to find him, standing up on a ladder and placing stickers all over boxes. Astrid was standing at the bottom of the ladder holding it steady.

"Agent Dunham, how nice it is to see you." Walter said coming down the ladder and hugging her.

"Hello Walter." Olivia said surprised by the hug. Looking over at Astrid the younger women just shrugged at her a confused look on her face.

"Oh." Walter said pulling a vial of some amber colored liquid. "Will you smell this?"

"No Walter." Olivia said holding her hands out in front of her remembering Peter's warning. "How long have you been decorating?

"Oh a few minutes or so, why are you so early?" Walter asked making her smirk at the similarities between Walter and Peter.

"It's mid morning Walter."

"Oh I didn't notice." Walter pointed out pointlessly. "I just got so into the mood, **it must have been cupid's arrow**. I seem to always get hit by one this time of year."

"Okay." Olivia said slowly. "Walter I got a call from you on my answering machine last night asking me to come here today because you had something important for me to do."

"Yes."Walter nodded after a moment of thought. "I wanted you to attend the party tonight with Peter."

"Walter, I've already agreed to go with Peter." Olivia pointed out and saw Walter's eyes brighten, a smile spreading across his face.

"Oh that's excellent news!" He exclaimed clapping his hands.

"Do you need any help?" Olivia asked and saw Walter shake his head.

"No, but thank you anyway. Aerosol and I have it covered."Walter said pointing to Astrid who rolled her eyes at him.

"It's Astrid." Olivia could hear the younger agent say as she made her way back to where she had left Peter only to find that part of the lab vacant. Looking around she saw him walk back into the lab carrying a paper tray with coffees in it and a large paper bag. Quickly making her way to him, she took the coffees and placed them on a table.

"Thank you." Peter said grateful for the help.

"No problem."Olivia smiled warmly at him.

"I got you something." Peter said pulling out a small stuffed animal bear. Though she was a tough FBI agent on the outside she had a thing for stuffed animal bears. Her mother used to get one for her every Valentine's day. She had shared this fact with Peter but didn't expect him to get her one.

"Thank you." Olivia said feeling surprising tears prick at her eyes.

"You're welcome." Peter said and kissed below her ear. "You should eat something."

"I already had breakfast." Olivia admitted.

"Well at least have some coffee." Peter pleaded making her want to kiss the pout off his handsome face.

"Okay." Olivia said and took the coffee that he pointed to.

Peter was about to say something when Olivia's phone rang making them both happy to potentially have a case.

"Dunham." She answered. "Yes sir, I'll be right there."

"Do we have case?" Peter asked hopeful.

"No." Olivia shook her head sadly. "Apparently I have to help set up the party."

"You're leaving me alone with my father?" Peter asked as if it were the most terrible thing in the world that she could do to him.

"Go back to sleep?" She suggested and squeezed his hand again. "I'll see you later."

"Assuming I'm still alive." He called after her as she walked out of the lab waving behind her.

Olivia made her way to Massive Dynamic where the party was going to be held. She walked into the large room that they had cleared. She could see Broyles, Nina and Brandon standing off to the side; Brandon was eating something that looked like a mix between a pickle and applesauce.

"Do I even want to know?" Olivia asked and saw Nina and Broyles give Brandon a disgusted look.

"**Tastes like chicken**." He shrugged and offered Olivia some but she cringed away.

"No thanks." She said, her nose scrunching up at the smell whatever it was gave off. Olivia then turned to Broyles who gave her instructions on what to do and soon they were all busy setting stuff up.

Once they were done, Olivia headed home to get showered and changed. She headed into her apartment and quickly got into the shower letting the hot cascade down her body letting it wash away some of her nerves. Though it wasn't exactly a date with Peter, it was the closest to one that they had ever had. After the ordeal with Faux-Livia, it was hard for both of them to get over the pain that ran deep. The idea of dating hadn't really come up due to the fact that he had dated her and neither wanted to have to worry about comparison between the two Olivia Dunham's. She quickly finished up her shower and pushed thoughts of her double out of her head in favor of just having a good night tonight.

Walking into her bedroom she took the new dress off the back of her bedroom door and laid it out on the bed. The party had a dress code and everyone that attended had to have at least one piece of red clothing on them, either that or pink. Olivia had gone with a deep red strapless dress that ended a couple of inches below her knees. She let her towel drop to the floor and pulled a pair of panties on before picking the dress up and stepping into it. She reached behind her and did up the zipper before pulling on some tights and slipping on a pair of dark red heals to match the dress. She walked over to her full length mirror and braided the front of her hair putting the rest of it up in a bun. Putting in some earings, she reached for her makeup and applied a small amount, just barely deeming herself ready when she heard someone knock on the door. Looking at the clock she knew it was Peter.

"Hi." She said opening the door and letting him in.

He took one look at her and his mouth went dry. He had never seen her wear colors before. Though Faux-Livia had worn slightly warming clothes they were nothing like the dress that Olivia wore now, the fabric hugging every curve perfectly.

"Hi." He barely croaked out and held out a red rose to her.

"Thank you." She blushed lightly and brought the rose to the kitchen and placed it in a vase with some water and an aspirin.

"Are you ready to go?" Peter asked seeing the bear sitting on her bed, the door to her bedroom open.

"Yeah I'm ready." Olivia said grabbing her purse and following Peter outside, locking the door behind her. She looked at his red suit and smiled up at him.

"Walter insisted." He shrugged.

"I like it." Olivia said and saw him smile.

"Oh be warned, Walter took some drugs earlier and is a bit off. Astrid is bringing him but I'm sure he'll find us." Peter explained opening the passenger door for her.

"Is he more out of it than normal?" Olivia asked when Peter got in behind the wheel.

"He insisted that Astrid and I **bah like a sheep **so yes, he's a bit out of it." Peter smirked.

"Oh that must have been fun." Olivia chuckled.

"You have no clue." Peter chuckled along with her.

They fell into companionable silence for the rest of the drive, Olivia allowing Peter to open her door when they got to Massive Dynamic. Olivia looped her arm through Peter's and walked in with him seeing all the people dressed in reds, pinks and some blacks. Peter surprisingly didn't stick out in his red suit. Several other men were wearing similar suits, some even wearing bright pink. Olivia pointed at one of the men and looked at Peter with a raised eyebrow.

"If Walter had insisted that I wear pink, I would have shot him." Peter said in her ear making her shudder involuntarily.

"Talking about Walter..." Olivia said tilting her head towards Peter's father. Walter was standing by the punch bowl talking animatedly with some agents, Astrid's bright red face acting as a beaker letting them know that they needed to help her and stop Walter. They started walking over and could hear him talking about various different things, though they could catch snippets of things that let them know he was embarrassing himself.

"When I was younger…Cabbage yes…**I can't eat banana's they remind me of something else**…" Walter rambled.

"Walter." Peter said walking up to his father and stopping him from talking.

"Oh Peter when did you get here?" Walter asked and looked at Olivia. "Agent Dunham don't you look lovely. Doesn't she look lovely Peter?"

"Of course she does." Peter said giving her a warm smile before turning back to his father. "Do you need to go home?"

"No I'm fine." Walter shook his head and turned to Astrid. "Can we get something to eat?"

"Sure, let's go." Astrid said walking away with him and turning her head to mouth 'save me' to Peter and Olivia who chuckled and got a glass of punch each.

"So we're here what would you like to do?" Peter asked looking over at her.

"Well truthfully there isn't much to do. Trust me I helped set everything up earlier." Olivia stated and looked around at the people that were just milling around talking.

"Exciting." Peter remarked and saw her smile.

"Yeah, why they throw this party every year I don't know."

"Every year huh?" Peter asked thinking. "Why didn't Walter and I come the last two years then?"

"The first year that you guys were helping the FBI you were not invited because your father was still barely lucid and then last year you were invited but we got busy with a case." Olivia explained.

"How many of these have you gone to?" Peter questioned.

"I'm required to attend them." She sighed. "So I have gone to every one of them since joining the FBI."

"Who were your dates?" Peter asked wanting to know the men that she had dated or at least gone to this event with.

"I tend to come on my own." Olivia said without a hint of embarrassment. "I brought Rachel one year, which was a mistake that will never happen again."

"Why what happened?" Peter asked always interested in the lives of the Dunham sister's.

"She got really drunk and went up to this guy…" Olivia laughed.

"And?"

"She pretty much assaulted him and then asked "**Is that a roll of NECCO wafers in your pocket or are you just happy to see me**? It was the guy's inhaler." Olivia explained.

"Ouch." Peter said trying not to laugh but failing.

"Yeah you should have been here it was bad." Olivia laughed with him. "I brought her home and thankfully she didn't remember anything in the morning."

"Lucky her." Peter said and took her hand leading her to a table where they sat down. "Okay I have a game for us to play."

"What would that be?" Olivia asked not really caring if it meant entertainment.

"Pick their back stories." Peter said remembering doing the same with Faux-Livia but knowing it would be different with Olivia.

"Who's?" Olivia asked scanning the room.

"Theirs." Peter said nodding to a couple sitting the corner.

"They are either just recently married or he's cheating on his wife." Olivia said confidently. "He's fiddling with his wedding band."

"I think they are just recently married." Peter said. "She isn't nervous that anyone will see her with him. I'm sure that other agents would know if he were cheating on his wife."

"Okay, how about them?" Olivia asked pointed out an aging man with a much younger woman hanging on his arm.

"She's his granddaughter, either that or one lucky guy to have a girl so young at his age." Peter said. "However according to Walter, **sex at 90 is like playing pool with a rope**."

"What?" Olivia coughed into her drink making Peter laugh hard and pat her back.

"Just repeating what Walter said." He smirked at her.

"Come on." Olivia said standing up and holding out her hand to him. She then led him up a set of stairs and out to a vacant balcony where they could still hear the music playing but were not surrounded by people.

"It's freezing out here." Peter stated and saw Olivia's shoulders erupt into Goosebumps though she didn't seem to care.

"It's quiet out here." She shrugged and looked down at a few people arriving and a few leaving. "Look at them." She said pointing to a couple; the man was seemingly dancing around her with a goofy look on his face.

"**Love makes the sane man crazy**." Peter said looking at her the whole time.

She looked over at him and saw something in his eyes that she had only hoped to see.

"Do you want to dance?" He asked.

"I thought you were cold."Olivia said while offering him her hand and letting him pull her to him and start up a lazy waltz.

"It's quiet up here." He said in her ear, her arm going around his neck while her hand rested comfortably in his larger one. "You're freezing." He said feeling her cold flesh under his hand.

"I'm fine." She protested her breath fanning against his neck. "Peter." She said pulling back slightly and looking into his eyes.

He gave her a small questioning look and stopped sway before slowly dipping his head down and taking her lips in his. The kiss was soft and caring and over way too soon, once Peter felt just how cold Olivia had gotten. He pulled away from her just slightly and slipped his jacket off putting it around her shoulders before grasping her waist and pulling her back to him and into another sweet kiss.

"PETER!" Walter called having found them out on the balcony. "Oh." He smiled when he saw them pull apart and turn to face him, Olivia still in Peter's arms.

"What do you want Walter?" Peter asked feeling Olivia surprisingly lean into him, her arm going around his waist while her other hand rested against his chest.

"I want to go home." Walter nearly whined.

"Can't Astrid bring you home?" Peter asked not wanting to leave Olivia yet.

"She said that she needs to stay." Walter pouted.

"She does." Olivia said against Peter's chest, looking down at her watch. "All of the agents have to stay for another hour or so."

"Do you think you can wait another hour?" Peter asked his father.

"No." Walter said shaking his head.

"I'm sorry." Peter sighed softly to Olivia.

"Don't be." Olivia said pulling him into a gentle kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow." She said and stepped out of his arms instantly feeling cold again.

"Have a good night." Peter said regrettably, taking his jacket back when she handed it to him. "Come on Walter, let's go home."

Olivia watched them leave and headed back down to the party.

It was close to midnight before she got home, tiredly climbing out of her car and going up to her apartment door only to find a small box sitting on the steps, picking it up she saw a small card on it saying that it was from Peter. She walked into her apartment and closed the door behind her and opened the small box finding a simple necklace with a red rose pendant on it, there was also a note inside the box.

_Livia,_

_I had a great time tonight and hope that you did too. I know that you don't normally wear jewelry but when I saw it, I thought of you. Remember red means love. So when I see you next, if you're wearing the necklace I'll know you feel the same for me as I do for you._

_I love you,_

_Peter_

Olivia read the note over a few times and let a huge smile grace her face. There was one thing that she knew for sure. Next time that he saw her, she'd be wearing the necklace. Taking it out of its box she put it on and headed into her bedroom slipping out of her dress and heals and into an oversized t-shirt that went down past her knees. She went into the bathroom and wiped the makeup off while taking out her earrings. Her feet hurt from standing most of the night and a shiver ran through her due to the cool temperature in her apartment. Finishing up in the bathroom she went over to her bed and climbed under the covers, pulling the blanket up to her chin and the teddy bear Peter had gotten her was pulled against her chest while her free hand wrapped around the necklace. A content and happy smile crossing her face just before sleep took over.


End file.
